It's Better This Way
by itachi's-worst-nightmare
Summary: Katara thought that she was meant to be with Aang, but after the war ends, she finds herself in a bit of a bind after going to the Fire Nation with Zuko after a bitter break up with Aang. Who are these two kids, and why are they calling her Mom? Mostly cannon compliant, TOTAL ZUTARA FICTION! Rating may or may not change. R
1. Chapter 1

**_Okay, so we all know that Mike and Bryan announced that Zuko and Katara were originally suppose to be together, but Aang was more appealing to kids, right? Well, I've been stewing over it for WEEKS and THIS is my brain-child! A post-series fanfiction that is mostly cannon compliant for both Avatar: The Last Airbender AND Legend of Korra, but contains all the juicy Zutarian goodness!_**

**_Little bit of back ground info:_**

_-Aang was born about 6 years sooner in this universe, so he was 18 when the monks told him he was the Avatar. After they tell him that he would have to give up his attachment to Gyatsu, he ran away, and we all know the story after that._

**_Ages for all characters are:_**

_18 - Aang and Suki_

_17 - Sokka and Zuko_

_15 - Katara and Toph (just so she isn't so many years younger then everyone else)_

**_I don't own A:TLA sadly, or I'd have stuck with Zutara and said screw those brats, they'll get over it! Read and review, Zutara lovers!_**

**Chapter One**

Katara smiled widely as she slowly woke from her long, restful slumber, stretching her over-worked muscles and working all of the kinks out of her back, wincing through her smile as she took notice to the newest of her aches, one she had never felt before that morning.

The war was finally over, and the Gaang had decided to take some much needed rest in Ba Sing Se to take time to re-cooperate after the long battle against the Fire Nation, their former enemy.

When Katara had kissed Aang the day before on the balcony, and he had kissed back with equal vigor, Katara had seen it as the beginning of a long and beautiful relationship. She'd been so happy, so ready to be a part of Aang's life that when he had stumbled drunkenly into her room that night after the party, she hadn't even thought to deny him what they both wanted.

She had no regrets. At least, she hadn't, until she saw Aang standing in his robe on the balcony overlooking the streets. He was frowning, not at all happy, and Katara had a sinking feeling in her stomach as she slipped on her own green robes and went to stand behind him, wrapping her arms around his narrow waist and laying her head on his broad shoulder. Katara was short, at only 5 feet and 2 inches tall, and Aang stood but a head taller then her, measuring only 5 feet and 8 inches tall at 18 years old. His frown etched deeper as he turned around and looked into the young Water bender's eyes. He sighed and reached for her hands, removing them from his waist.

"Katara, we shouldn't have done that."

Katara looked up at him in confusion, hoping that he was joking, but knowing that he was deathly serious.

"I... I don't understand. Yesterday on the balcony, you kissed me back. You wanted this as much as I did."

"I know, Katara, believe me, that's not the problem-"

"Then what IS the problem, Aang?"

The avatar sighed and turned away from the angry girl.

"The problem is that as much as I want to be with you, as much as the thought of having a relationship with you makes me want to jump for joy and sing to the moon, I CAN'T. I'm the Avatar, and I have a duty to the world, and falling in love with you, starting a family with you, would be selfish. Not just because being with you would mean giving up time as the Avatar, but because being the Avatar would keep me away from my family. It's just not right, Katara. It's not possible for me to be a good husband AND the Avatar. I'm sorry. I don't know what else to say."

Katara was silently crying, her heart breaking apart as the truth hit her.

"So, what you're telling me, is that last night, it was... a mistake?"

"Yes, Katara, it was a mistake. As much as I wish it wasn't, as utterly perfect as last night was, as happy as I was to be with you for that short time, it was a mistake. But I don't regret it. My only regret is that I hurt you like this."

Katara took in a shaky breath, trying to steady herself with a smile, "I don't either. No matter what happens, I will never regret that we had this one time together."

Aang smiled sadly and kissed her on the forehead.

"I love you, Katara. I hope that in the future you find someone who can make you happy."

"Be safe," she whispered as he walked out the door, shutting it softly behind him. Katara backed up intil the back of her knees hit the bed and she collapsed onto it, sobbing her heart out as she hadn't cried since her mother's death.

**Aang's POV**

I stood outside of Katara's bedroom door and collected myself. I could hear her hysterical sobbing even out in the hallway and felt like my heart was ripping in two. I couldn't help her, couldn't spare her the pain I was putting her through, and for that I would always hate myself a little bit. Katara was a great person, had taken care of me ever since she had found me, had acted like the mother I never had and supported me through the war. She didn't deserve what I'd done to her.

"Hey, Aang, what're you doing outside Katara's door?" Sokka asked as he yawned, walking towards him on his way to the dining hall.

Sokka blinked when he heard his sister crying.

"Why is Katara crying?"

Aang sighed and put his hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Come one, I'll explain everything on the way to the stables."

"Stables?" Sokka asked in confusion, "are you leaving already?"

"I think it would be best."

_**So, what do you guys think? Reviews are quite welcome, don't be shy!**_


	2. Chapter 2

**_Thank you to those of you who reviewed, I love hearing from everyone who reads my stories! I can't promise an update every day, but I will try to update as often as possible. I'm sorry if Aang seemed a bit harsh, but remember, in this version, Aang is older and more mature, with a different mindset from the young Aang we all know and love. Plus, (slight spoiler) you're all going to be a little more angry with Aang in a few chapters. Sorry._**

**_Little bit of back ground info:_**

_-Aang was born about 6 years sooner in this universe, so he was 18 when the monks told him he was the Avatar. After they tell him that he would have to give up his attachment to Gyatsu, he ran away, and we all know the story after that._

**_Ages for all characters are:_**

_18 - Aang and Suki_

_17 - Sokka and Zuko_

_15 - Katara and Toph (just so she isn't so many years younger then everyone else)_

**_Let's review!_**

_Katara got dumped by Aang, who is about to leave Ba Sing Se._

**Chapter Two**

Zuko frowned as he entered the dining hall. Usually, by the time he had finished with his morning routine of training on the roof top of the palace and meditating in the early morning sun, everyone was already seated around the table, talking animatedly and fighting over who got the last piece of bacon, even though there would be more brought shortly by the palace staff. But as Zuko entered the dining hall, he found that only Toph and Mai were present.

"Where is everyone?" Zuko asked as he sat in his usual spot next to Mai.

"Dunno, Preggers just went to hunt down Snoozles and Sugar Queen and Twinkle Toes got into a fight this morning. Sweetness is still in her room boo-hoo-ing."

Zuko frowned and asked the blind Earth bender, "who? Never mind, why is Katara crying?"

"I suppose her and Aang got into a fight. How am I suppose to know?"

"I thought you were her friend?" Mai snorted as she pushed a grape around on her plate with a fork, "shouldn't you be, I don't know, comforting her, or something?"

"Nah, Sugar Queen knows I ain't no good at that kind of stuff so what's the point in trying?"

The new Fire Lord sighed and turned back towards the hallway, "I'll go check on her. Honey, will you ask one of the servants to send a tray up to her with some jasmine tea. Maybe it will help her calm down."

Mai sighed and kissed him on his cheek.

"You sound more and more like your uncle every day, Zuko."

"I'll take that as a compliment," he chuckled before walking on down the hallway towards the guest's wing, intent on finding out why his friend was so upset.

Zuko and Katara's relationship had started out... tedious, to say the least, but over the last few weeks, what with all the deep, emotional talk, the playing ninja in the night, and fighting together in a life or death situation against his sister, only to be subsequently saved by the Water tribe girl, Zuko felt like Katara was one of his best friends, and someone he could trust with his life.

And if Aang had gone and done something to hurt her, there was going to be Hell to pay. Agni knew, he was a man with a temper, and when it came to those he loved, there was no holding back.

"Katara," he called as he knocked on her door, "breakfast is ready."

"Go away, Zuko," he heard the girl hiccup from the other side of the door.

"Toph said you and Aang had a fight. Do you wanna talk about it?"

"Not now!" she yelled, throwing something, probably a soggy pillow, at the door.

Zuko sighed, thinking it best to leave her alone for a while longer.

"Alright, I'll leave you be for a while. I asked Mai to have a tray sent up for you, try to eat something or you're going to make yourself sick. You know where to find me when you're ready to talk, alright?"

There was a long pause, then the sniffles resumed.

"Thanks, Zuko."

Said Fire bender smiled and left the door without saying a word, heading back to the dining hall to join the others for breakfast. When he arrived, he found that Sokka had joined them, and was just scarfing down the last of the frost berry pancakes.

"Hey, Zuko, any luck with Katara?" he asked between bites as the fire lord sat next to him at the table.

"She's still upset, so I left her alone for now. She'll come around in a while. Any idea what happened?"

Sokka swallowed, then stopped eating all together, gripping the handle of his fork tightly.

"Aang's a jerk, but he's not here anymore, so let's not discuss it."

"Twinkle toes left? Without saying goodbye?" Toph gaped.

"He hurt Katara, Toph. He thought it would be best if he left as soon as possible to make it easier on her to get over it."

"More like he didn't want her over-protective big brother to beat the crap out of him," Toph snorted, "just wait until you have daughters, Suki. There will be no dating for them until they're old and wrinkly if Sokka has anything so say about it."

Sokka snorted as he started back in on his pancakes, "yeah, like that'll happen anytime soon."

Suki fidgeted in her seat and glanced nervously at Toph, who smirked. Zuko frowned, the only one who had caught the interaction as his girlfriend dished out some komodo rhino sausage and firecake biscuits, his favorite breakfast meal since childhood. He smiled as her and placed his hand on her cheek.

"You remembered."

"Of course I did, Dummy," she snickered, "I had a crush on you growing up. I'll bet there are things I know about you that even you don't remember."

"Of yeah, like what?"

"Like how once, before she was so evil, how Azula married us in front of the statue of your great grandfather in the court yard."

Zuko's eyes widened in surprise as the memory came back to him, vaguely, just enough for him to remember that it actually happened.

"I can't believe I forgot that. Wow, we mustn't have been more then four or five."

"At the oldest," Mai agreed.

Zuko smirked, "you know, since it was recognized in front of a Fire Sage, our 'marriage' could be technically binding, right?"

Mai snorted, "oh, no, you don't get out of dating me and having to go through an actual proposal THAT easily, mister. You still have to do this the right way."

The young man sighed in mock exasperation, "fine."

"YOU'RE WHAT!?" Sokka yelled as he fell out of his chair.

_**That's the end of chapter 2, guys! Review, review, review!**_


	3. Chapter 3

**_Little bit of back ground info:_**

_-Aang was born about 6 years sooner in this universe, so he was 18 when the monks told him he was the Avatar. After they tell him that he would have to give up his attachment to Gyatsu, he ran away, and we all know the story after that._

**_Ages for all characters are:_**

_18 - Aang and Suki_

_17 - Sokka and Zuko_

_15 - Katara and Toph (just so she isn't so many years younger then everyone else)_

**_Let's review!_**

_Zuko tried to comfort Katara, who just wants to be alone for a little while. Toph revealed a secret, Sokka is pissed at Aang, and Mai reminisces in an old memory (to be referred to later, all part of the plot, my dearies!)._

**_Warning! Contains LOTS of DRAMA! -_**

_Chapter three picks up with Sokka and Suki discussing a subject which Toph has currently made two not-so-subtle references to, half of the discussion which we have missed thank's to Mai's little back story.  
_

**Chapter Three**

"YOU'RE WHAT!?" Sokka yelled as he fell out of his chair onto the dining room floor.

Zuko turned around to see if he could catch on to the conversation he had most definitely missed the beginning of.

"I didn't want to say anything until the war was over, and then everyone was celebrating, so I just wanted to wait until everything calmed down!" Suki cried out, looking stricken.

"How could you not tell me you were pregnant? What if something happened in battle? What if you'd been hurt, and the baby had died, what if YOU had died-"

"SOKKA, enough! It's done now, so just deal with it! Preferably NOT at the breakfast table where EVERYONE can hear us!" the Kyoshi warrior huffed, glaring halfheartedly at Toph.

"Hey, don't glare at me. I can feel the malice rolling off of you in waves. Besides, you weren't going to tell Snoozles without a little push anyway until you were ready to pop at this rate," Toph snorted, unrepentant.

"It wasn't your place," Suki growled.

"No, it was yours, but you weren't doing it, so someone had to. Sokka had a right to know, unless it's not Sokka's, that is."

Sokka froze solid, looking as pale at the snowy wonderland he grew up in.

"Suki," he asked flatly, without any expression on his face, "it IS my child, right?"

"Of course, Sokka! Who's else would it be? Why would you even think that- you know what, I'm not disguising this. Not here, not now, not in front of a room full of people who, personally, have no reason butting into our own personal business."

"How dare you," a familiar voice called from the doorway. Everyone turned to look at her as Katara strolled into the dining room towards the older teen.

"How dare you say none of us have a right to know what goes on in each other's lives. We've all lived together, nearly died together, have been a family, for MONTHS! Sokka is as important to us as we are to him, anything that concerns him, or you for that matter, is a FAMILY matter. And you, how long have you known? How long did you hide this from all of us and possibly put us in danger? Do you know what could have happened if something went wrong and none of us knew what was going on and couldn't help you? We were in the middle of a war, people were dying all around us, and you didn't think it was important to tell us we had another life to worry about?"

"That's just it, you didn't NEED another life to worry about, any of you!" Suki cried, tears streaming down her face, "I didn't say anything because I couldn't let you baby me and put yourselves in danger if the situation called for it! If something happened to the baby, then it was going to happen, but I couldn't let any of you risk yourselves for me!"

Everyone was deadly silent as Suki sobbed into her hands, trying to process her words.

"I... I love my baby, but I wouldn't let anyone else loose the ones they loved for me. I... I couldn't break up our family, not when the end was so close, not when we could nearly touch it and live in peace..."

"Oh, Suki," Katara whispered, wrapping her arms around the girl, "we understand. We know that the war was hard on all of us, but you still should have told us. We're a family, we would have helped you through this. ANY loss would have been felt, whether it was one of us, or the baby, but we'd have gotten through it together."

Suki continued to sob into the Water tribe girl's shoulder, stressed, tired, and frightened from all of the people yelling at her.

"Suki," Sokka called lightly from behind the older girl, who looked up with red eyes and a noisy sniffle only to have her shoulders seized in his hands, "don't ever hide anything like this again, alright? No matter how bad the situation, we'll get through it. I don't want you to feel like you're burdening anyone. Because the Kyoshi warrior I know isn't a burden. She's smart, strong, and reliable. The Kyoshi warrior I know isn't scared of anything."

Suki sniffled and shook her head, looking away from the man she'd grown to love.

"I'm still a woman, too, Sokka. I'm only a woman, with a man, having a baby. I can take on the entire Fire Nation navy without blinking an eye, but giving birth? Raising a child? I don't know if I'm strong enough to do that."

"I know you are," Sokka reassured, "because if you weren't, I wouldn't be in love with you. If you weren't strong enough to be a mother, then I wouldn't want to marry you, right here, right now."

**_Review, please, people! Gimme feedback! Lemme know whacha thinkin'!_**


	4. Chapter 4

**_Little bit of back ground info:_**

_-Aang was born about 6 years sooner in this universe, so he was 18 when the monks told him he was the Avatar. After they tell him that he would have to give up his attachment to Gyatsu, he ran away, and we all know the story after that._

**_Ages for all characters are:_**

_18 - Aang and Suki_

_17 - Sokka and Zuko_

_15 - Katara and Toph (just so she isn't so many years younger then everyone else)_

**_In the last chapter..._**

Everyone grilled Suki about her pregnancy, Katara made an appearance, and Sokka proposed to her!

**_This chapter is going to be about Aang, who is currently flying to random places in the Earth Kingdom looking to help repair damage done by the Fire Nation in the final attack during Sozin's Commit. _**

**Chapter Four**

As I looked around at the burned fields and the demolished villages and abandoned regions of the Earth Kingdom, I couldn't help but think back to that morning a week ago when I left Ba Sing Se, breaking Katara's heart and possibly causing Sokka to hate me for the rest of my life. At the memory of his fist in my face and the pain I'd suffered through since as my face began to heal, I winced, rubbing the green and yellow mark on my jaw, feeling through the skin where he'd knocked out one of my teeth and possibly damaged the ones surrounding it when I told him I'd basically had a one night stand with his virgin baby sister.

Momo chirped from his perch atop Appa's horn and leapt into the air, soaring next to the big hairy monster and drawing Aang's attention to a small town that looked as though it had taken a hit from the Fire Nation pretty bad, and there were still people doing their best to survive the conditions instead of abandoning their homes and moving to refugee camps. He turned Appa and landed him right in the middle of the town, startling some of the villagers and causing a few men who looked to be ex Earth Kingdom soldiers to come out of the surrounding buildings to greet him.

"Avatar Aang," the one who looked to be the one keeping the small town together bowed in respect, "it is an honor for you to grace us with your presence."

Aang bowed back and looked around the town, thinking of what needed to be done first and foremost.

"Why have none of you left yet? I mean, this place is... how did you manage to stay?"

"Well, you see, this town, during the war, was mostly nonbending women, elderly, and young children. No one could leave, so they did the best they could. There was a group of thugs here for a while, but a man ran them off."

"That's good," Aang smiled.

"He should have just minded his own business," a young boy, about 8 years old, snorted.

"Lee! That's a horrible thing to say! He saved your life!" a woman standing a few feet away from the boy spoke.

"I don't care! He lied to us, and he was a Fire bender! And not just any fire bender, but the banished prince! What goes on in this town is none of his business! He should have never stopped here!"

Aang frowned at the angry boy and turned to him calmly.

"I happen to know the man you speak of. He's the Fire Lord now, and he's the reason I was able to defeat the Fire Lord and bring an end to the war. He's the reason I knew about the invasion of the Earth Kindgom and the reason I was able to stop the previous Fire Lord before he destroyed all of you. Fire Lord Zuko is a good man. You should be thankful that he saved you, not resentful because he is a Fire bender. Every person is different. Don't judge others because of the actions of their people."

The boy scoffed and walked away.

"You'll have to forgive Lee. His father and his brother both died in the war, killed by the Fire Nation. It's hard for him to adjust to everything. It's hard for ALL of us," the soldier before him informed Aang.

"I know. It was hard for me, too. Everything will work out eventually, all we need is time to heal."

Aang continued on this the soldier, but his thoughts were stuck on Zuko, and the challenges he faced, especially with the Earth Kingdom people. So much had been lost to them, the war ravaging them for so long, Aang knew that he couldn't fix this on his own. It would take the work of all of Team Avatar, and all of their friends, to bring the world into the era of peace and kindness Zuko had envisioned for them all. He only hoped that love would be enough to heal those wounds.

**Until next time! Let me know what ya'all think, what ya'all want to see,ect.!**


	5. Chapter 5

**_Little bit of back ground info:_**

_-Aang was born about 6 years sooner in this universe, so he was 18 when the monks told him he was the Avatar. After they tell him that he would have to give up his attachment to Gyatsu, he ran away, and we all know the story after that._

**_Ages for all characters are:_**

_18 - Aang and Suki_

_17 - Sokka and Zuko_

_15 - Katara and Toph (just so she isn't so many years younger then everyone else)_

**_In the last chapter..._**

Aang visited the Earth Kingdom, Lee is still angry at Zuko.

**This is a bit longer chapter, to make up for the last one's shortness. :D**

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter Five**

Katara looked out over the set up in the court yard from the balcony of the Earth Kingdom's palace and couldn't help but feel envious of Suki. Upon hearing of Sokka and Suki's engagement, the Earth King had immediately seen to it that all of the preparations for the happy couple's big day were taken care of immediately, promising them a dream wedding on the afternoon of their last day in Ba Sing Se.

White and peach colored flowers filled vases placed at the base of every pillar in the court yard. The fountain in the center of it had been covered in streamers and ribbons and bows, the water littered with white rose petals. White carpets had been rolled out from all four entrances to the court yard, three of the four doorways closed and barred with white banners. Katara had never seen so much white in her entire life.

In the Earth Kindgom, the color white symbolized purity, much like in the Water Tribes. The lanterns that had yet to be lit floated around the petals in the fountain were the only things in the courtyard that were not either white, peach, or pale green but for the grass, and were instead blue, all but one. This one was white, with glass windows, and slightly bigger then the others. It floated less freely, and had a paper ball attached to it on the edge of the fountain that anchored it in place. From what Katara understood, Sokka and Suki would light the lantern with the large candle on the stand in front of the fountain, and it would be released into the sky at the end of their marriage ceremony to symbolize their future, as the sky was the limit to the possibilities of the future they had together. It was said to be good luck for who ever found the lantern after the flame burned out, a sign from the gods that they would marry or meet the one they were destined for shortly. Katara wasn't sure she believed that, though no one had ever said anything to argue against the claim.

"It's beautiful," Zuko said as he came to stand next to her on the balcony, startling her out of her thoughts.

"Yeah, Suki is lucky. She wouldn't have gotten this kind of wedding if they'd waited until they got back to the Southern Water Tribe. They'd have exchanged vows, received a few useful gifts, and been sent to their newly built hut where the women would have already stored enough food to get them through their first year of marriage, as well as a Yoda."

"What's that?" Zuko asked.

"A Yoda is a charm that is placed over the doorway of the home of a newly wed couple by the wife as they first enter the home. She has to have her husband lifting her up to hang it from the prepared hooks above the doorway. It is suppose to draw Tui to the home, to ask that he bless the couple with their first child soon, though I guess Sokka won't be needing that," Katara sighed.

"No, I suppose not. It sounds nice, though, your tribe's marriage custom. In the Fire Nation, more times then not, it is not encouraged for a couple to have their first child, or even consummate their marriage, for the first year. That's to ensure that the husband's family knows that the heir to family's fortunes is truly the husband's child. Often times, the marriage ceremony lasts well into the night, and the couple must be present before anyone else and not leave until after their last guest has been greeted and thanked as they leave the reception."

"Sounds uncomfortable."

"Yeah. My mom used to tell me about her wedding night. How it took from nearly sun up to well after sun down, closer to the next sun rise. My father informed me after she left, when he thought that I was old enough to start looking for a potential wife, of how he kept her up for nearly an additional day after the wedding ceremony, consummating the marriage so that she wouldn't run away."

"Your mom didn't want to marry your father?"

"She hated him. She only began to tolerate him after the royal physician diagnosed her pregnancy. She wanted for her children to have a happy family. My father would have forced more children on her if Azula's birth hadn't nearly killed her. She was told another pregnancy could kill her, so Father was not given all the heirs he wanted. To my knowledge, all of his concubines had trouble carrying a pregnancy to term. Very few of them gave birth, and most of the children died before their first birthday. The only two I know of who survived were both girls, non-benders."

"That's horrible," Katara sighed.

"It's the way things are. Many past Fire Lords have had concubines and illegitimate children. It's said that Agni will not allow the boys to live because they will jeopardize the royal family's crown. Many of the girls who survive have arranged marriages to noblemen. He grandfather had three women who's children I knew growing up who were my aunts. My grandfather held weddings for each of them in the palace, asking that they strengthen the blood of Agni in the Fire Nation nobles by having many children with golden eyes. That's a trait that promises that you have some relation to the royal family within few generations. Everyone I know of with gold eyes had a father, grand father, or great-grandfather who was a Fire Lord or a Prince of the Fire Nation. Mai's father is really pushing us to get married. They haven't had a golden-eyed member of their family in generations except their youngest son, Tom Tom."

"I remember him," Katara stated with a smile, "he was such a sweet boy. He got caught up in a crowd of escaping Earth Kingdom civilians as we evacuated them out of the town. It's odd that he'd have golden eyes when he doesn't have any relatives in the royal family. Unless... you don't think that Mai's mother had an affair with your father or grandfather, do you?"

Zuko shook his head.

"No. My grandfather has been dead too long to be his father, it would have to be my father. And no, there is no possible way for her to have had an affair with my father. She never came to the capitol with Mai and her father. She claimed that the traveling made her ill."

Katara nodded, thinking over what he had told her of the royal family's relations.

"Maybe they adopted him."

"It's possible, but why hide that they were raising the Fire Lord's son? It's an honor to have one of royal blood in your household as a foster child, especially since no male children have ever survived that I know of. It doesn't make sense. I suppose he'd just have received a recessive trait from farther back then is normal."

"I suppose so," Katara conceded.

Music suddenly filled the courtyard and Katara looked up, seeing that the sun was starting to lower over the tallest point surrounding the courtyard, which was when the wedding would begin.

"Come on, we have to get down their if we want to catch the first glimpsed of the bride," Katara said with a smile, taking Zuko's hand in hers.

But jumped apart as if burned when their fingers connected, shocked from some sort of electricity that had passed between them. Katara looked up at Zuko and shivered. He'd definitely felt it, too.

"Um, yeah, let's just... go," he grumbled, mood suddenly down cast as he turned and walked towards the stairwell to the courtyard.

Katara frowned, wondering what in the world had just passed between them.

**R&R appreciated!**


	6. Chapter 6

**_Little bit of back ground info:_**

_-Aang was born about 6 years sooner in this universe, so he was 18 when the monks told him he was the Avatar. After they tell him that he would have to give up his attachment to Gyatsu, he ran away, and we all know the story after that._

**_Ages for all characters are:_**

_18 - Aang and Suki_

_17 - Sokka and Zuko_

_15 - Katara and Toph (just so she isn't so many years younger then everyone else)_

**_In the last chapter..._**

Katara and Zuko had a _moment_ before Sokka and Suki's wedding.

**Chapter Six**

The wedding was beautiful, and afterwards Katara couldn't help but feel utterly alone. Toph would be heading out first thing in the morning to go back to Gaoling to see her parents, her brother and his new wife had already left for the South Pole, and the following afternoon Zuko would be heading for the Fire Nation to begin piecing his court back together.

Katara didn't know what to do. She'd thought about going home, but after much thought felt like the South Pole wasn't where she belonged. She'd spent so much of her life in that frozen tundra, and it would always be her home, her heritage, her motherland, but she knew it wasn't where she belonged. There was no way she could go back and be content to live the life she would have lived had it not been for the war. She had already seen too much of the world, felt too much freedom, to allow herself to be anchored down by her people's beliefs.

If she were to return, she would be expected to give up her freedom in exchange for marriage. As much as she wanted to get married and have a family, she didn't want to settle for what she would be offered there. She would never be content to stay at the home, do the cleaning and laundry and cook while her husband was out hunting and fighting and providing. She was far too independent to be suitable for any Watertribe man, and Katara knew that as soon as she set foot back in her village, her father, as the leader of their tribe, would be forced to arrange a marriage between her and one of the eligible young men who had come to their village after the war from their northern sister tribe. So the Watertribes were out.

She'd already seen so much of the Earth Kingdom over the last year, she felt like she'd spent just as much time there as she had back in her village.

That left the Fire Nation. Now that the war was over, Katara felt maybe she could enjoy the scenery, the culture, and the knowledge the Fire Nation had to offer her. During their short time in the Fire Nation, Katara had seen many things she'd never known about before her travels, and if not for the fact that they had been on a tight schedule, she'd have stopped and investigated some of it. Now that there was peace, Katara felt a bit more at ease with the idea of traveling around the nation everyone knew so much, yet so little about.

Deciding finally that she was going to travel the Fire Nation for a while, Katara set off to find Zuko, who was most likely still mingling in the grand hall with the other party guests who had attended her brother's wedding. Maybe he'd let her leave with him the following day when he left for Capital Island on his steam ship.

Just as she was about to pass by the enterance to the gardens near the grand hall, Katara heard a familiar voice.

Zuko was standing near the fountain, obviously arguing with Mai, who he'd been dating again over the last few weeks spent there at the Earth King's palace.

"... even act like you like me, Zuko!"

"Of course I like you, Mai, you're my _girlfriend, _remember?"

"Then why was it you wouldn't have sex with me last night, of last week, or the week before? Why is it that you don't want to hang out with me, would rather spar with the water wench then sit on the balcony with me and have a meal? Why is it every time I bring up what we're going to do when we go home, you avoid the subject?"

Zuko threw his hands up in the air.

"I respect you enough to want to wait to sleep with you, and you think it's a _bad_ thing? Water is the opposite of Fire, training with a Water bender is good for strengthening my weaknesses. I don't want to talk about going home yet, because I want to enjoy this small vacation while I can, since I'm Fire Lord and all, it could be a while before I get another one. What's wrong with any of that? Why is it all we do is fight, Mai? Why can't we have even ONE civil conversation, just _once_?"

"Maybe it's because I don't want to date you anymore, Zuko."

Said Fire bender looked at the weapons expert as if she'd grown another head.

"Mai-"

"No, Zuko, listen to me. This is never going to work, we both know it, you're just too busy trying to keep your vow that you won't say it. So here it is, Zuko- I release you. You are no longer bound by that promise, and you don't have to break it. You don't have to leave me, because I'm leaving you. I'm getting on an air ship in the morning and going to stay with my aunt. Mura won't mind me helping her out at her flower shop for a little while. She'd a widow and her only son died in the war. She'd enjoy the company."

Mai reached the doorway opposing the one Katara herself was near and stopped, never turning to face Zuko.

"I hope you find happiness in your future, Zuko. You deserve it after everything you've done for your people, and for the world."

Zuko sat on the edge of the fountain after the woman left, his head cradled in his hands as he tried to comprehend what had happened.

"Zuko?" Katara asked as she sat down next to him, placing her hand on his shoulder, "are you alright?"

"Mai's right," he murmured, "it never would have worked. But all my life, I've been surrounded by girls, by the girls at court, by Ty Lee and Mai, by all the girls I met traveling around the world, and yet... Mai's the only one I ever pictured as the Fire Lady. She's the only one who ever made sense to me. And now, everything I had planned, everything I ever imagined, it's gone, it's all changed, and I don't know how to make it all look _right_ again. How can I push forward, when I don't know what I'm pushing for?"

"You're not just talking about your personal life, are you? You're talking about the entire nation."

"How am I suppose to expect my nation to stand by me when I can't even get a woman to? A woman who's always been there, no less. I'm so pathetic!"

"No, you're now, Zuko!" Katara exclaimed, turning the young man by his shoulders to face her, "You're a strong man, Zuko, who helped the Avatar bring an end to the war. So was if some emotionless blob doesn't want to stick around a make Fire Babies with you, someone else _will,_ and she'll love you and do everything in her power to help you lead the nation you love more then your own life."

After a long moment, Zuko looked up at her with a small smile on his face.

"Thanks, Katara. I know I can always count on you when I need someone to talk to."

She smiled back, glad to have helped, and said so.

"What are you doing out here?" he asked, "I thought you'd gone back to your room?"

"I did, but then I needed to ask you something."

"Sure, anything."

"I was wondering, would it be alright if I went back to the Fire Nation with you? I don't want to go home quite yet, and thought traveling around the Fire Nation for a little while and learning about the nation you're to rule would be fun."

Zuko smiled, "that's a great idea! Of course you can come to the capital with me. In fact, if you want to stick around for a while, I'll be traveling the Fire Nation in a few weeks, myself. Too much of our culture has been forgotten, and I want our people to see that their Fire Lord is really interested in their lives, that he wants to better the world for them."

"Oh, Zuko, thank you! That sounds like a wonderful idea! I'd love to join you."

"Alright then, it's a date!" he joked, "You'd better get some rest. Don't forget we have an audience with the king tomorrow."

"Right. Well, I'll see you at breakfast, bright and early!"

Katara smiled to herself as she walked back to her room, hoping that with that problem solved, soon things would settle into a routine and she could work on getting over Aang.

**As always, reviews are appreciated. Sorry for taking so long to update the last chapter, everyone!**


	7. Chapter 7

**_Little bit of back ground info:_**

_-Aang was born about 6 years sooner in this universe, so he was 18 when the monks told him he was the Avatar. After they tell him that he would have to give up his attachment to Gyatsu, he ran away, and we all know the story after that._

**_Ages for all characters are:_**

_18 - Aang and Suki_

_17 - Sokka and Zuko_

_15 - Katara and Toph (just so she isn't so many years younger then everyone else)_

**_In the last chapter..._**

Zuko and Mai broke up, and Katara is going with Zuko to the Fire Nation.

**Chapter Seven**

The trip back to the Fire Nation was uneventful. Over the three and a half days it took to go from the Earth Kingdom port to the bay at Harbor City, the town where capitol's most prestigious people kept their ships docked, as the name suggested, Zuko and Katara did little more then spar, play pai sho, and drink tea as they recalled the days of their travels. Zuko had also explained a few things about the capitol to her, now that things were back in working order.

"Don't be surprised if anyone approaches you as Lady Katara, Master Katara, or Princess Katara. To the people of the Fire Nation, it's hard to comprehend that the Fire Lord would call someone who was not a noble friend, so even those who know much about the Water Tribes may refer to you with a respected title."

"But why would they call me a princess? We don't have princesses in the Southern Water tribe."

"Well, yes, but truly, you should. The Northern Water tribe and the Southern Water tribe are separate, correct? The North doesn't dictate the South?"

"Of course not," Katara frowned.

"Well, that makes your father the chief of your tribe, correct?"

Yeah..," Katara stated, slowly coming to the same conclusion that Zuko already had.

"And as his daughter, that makes you-"

"-the Princess of the Southern Water tribe," she finished in a daze.

"That's right."

"But, the people of the Southern Water tribe tend to forgo such formalities."

"That doesn't mean the rest of the world does. To them, you ARE a princess by right, and while in the Fire Nation, you will be treated as such. That means that when we arrive, you'll be expected to ride the palanquin with me to the palace. When we arrive, you will be shown to your suite, which is the closest to the royal family's wing, by a set of hand maids, which have surely already gathered you a wardrobe befitting a Water Tribe princess. They will insist on assisting you in your washroom and will wash your hair with the most luxurious perfumes and softeners available."

"Zuko, that's too much," Katara had protest.

"It's what is to be expected of the Fire Nation's palace staff. Anything less is an insult to the Fire Lord. You wouldn't want to insult me, would you," he had teased.

Katara was still having a hard time keeping her cool when they arrived at the palace and Katara was, indeed, ushered to her rooms to bathe.

Katara was absolutely famished by the time they began to dry her hair, she gladly excepted when a maid offered her a bowl of cherries, a Fire Nation fruit that was known for it's sweet taste, bright color, and amazing health benefits. Katara took a bite of one and felt something hard, which she spit out to find that it was a pit.

The entire group of women froze, and the one who had offered the cherries bowed deeply, apologizing profoundly for her insolence, baffling Katara.

"What are you apologizing for? It's just a pit. Fruit has pits in them sometimes. It has nothing to do with your services. People, get up. You did nothing wrong. Why are you so upset?"

"Forgive her, Princess Katara. You see, on the day of Princess Azula's coronation, we witnessed a similar incident involving the princess's maids, and all were banished from the Nation until Fire Lord Zuko took the thrown," one of the older maids explained.

"What? That's just stupid! Listen," she said more gently as she turned back to the young maid, "Princess Azula is insane. If anyone ever tries to reprimand any of you for something out of your control, take it to the Fire Lord. He's a fair man, and he'll do right by you, I promise."

"The Fire Lord will be too busy to see any of us, Princess."

Katara frowned.

"Then tell me, and I will see to it that you're taken care of, alright? Zuko would never let any of you suffer such abuse."

The young maid burst into tears and fell to her knees, and another of the maids took her by the shoulders and steered her from the room. The elder maid frowned against and bowed to the Water bender.

"Please, excuse the girl, My Lady. She is not at her best as of yet."

"Is there anything I can do for her?"

The woman shook her head.

"No, My Lady. She will be dealing with the issue shortly, I assure you. You see, the girl was one of Azula's maids before the previous Fire Lord announced himself as the Pheonix King. While Azula was away, she helped around the palace and during that time, she became with child."

Katara's eyes widened.

"But... she's so young. Surely her husband would have wanted to wait..."

"You misunderstand, Princess. You see, in the palace, for a maid, no matter the age, there are those to which you can simply not say no if you wish to remain in service."

Katara paled as she comprehended the woman's meaning.

"You... you mean, one of the nobles... took advantage of her?"

"Not one of the nobles, but yes, she is carrying a bastard, but as I said, she will be dealing with the issue soon. Her emotions will not interfere with her work again."

After a moment of thought, Katara felt she had had enough, and asked the maids to leave. She was already dressed, had only her slippers to place on her feet before she left her room. Overwhelmed, Katara sat at her vanity and looked down at her hands in her lap and she digested that piece of Fire Nation culture.

Any man in the palace could have his way with any of the girls or women in service here, and none could do a thing about it if they did not wish to loose what they had worked for, but to end the life placed inside them if such a thing were to occur. Who was protecting these girls, saving them from having to make such a decision or risk loosing everything?

"Katara," Zuko asked as he came into her room, "you didn't answer when I knocked."

"Oh, sorry. I... I didn't hear you."

Zuko frowned and knelt before her, looking up at her pale face.

"Is this all a bit much? I can ask the maids to back off if you wish."

Katara shook her head, "no that's not it. I just... one of the maids upset me, that's all."

The Fire Lord's face turned dark.

"Inform me of which one, and I will see to it that she is immediately dismissed."

Katara gasped, "what? No! Not like that! I'm just upset that the maids don't have more protecting then they do!"

"Protection? Is someone harming the maids?"

Katara explained everything that had happened, and the consequences of what the girl had been through.

"I see. I suppose you would be upset by this."

"You knew?" Katara gaped.

"It happens on occasion. There are plenty bastards of noblemen running around the palace as servants. It is not uncommon for the servants to fall pregnant while working here. It has always been understood that as long as it never interfered with their work, they could birth the children without any fuss from anyone in the palace, but if they could not work properly while with child, that they were to either give up their position or end the pregnancy. The palace physicians will see to it that she is given proper medical attention."

"She shouldn't _need _medical attention! She should have never been put in this position to begin with! It's practically rape, and these damned nobles are getting away with it!"

Zuko nodded, "I agree with you. I will be sure to bring the subject up tomorrow at the council meeting. I'll see to it that everyone knows that the palace staff is off limits, and anyone who forces themselves on a servant will be punished. But in the mean time, will you come to dinner with me? I'm sure you're as famished as I am."

Katara nodded and took his offered hand as he helped her up, not releasing it when she was on her feet.

"Thank you, Zuko. It means a lot to me that you're not only trying to make peace with the other nations, but are also trying to make things better for your own people, even the lowly servants."

"I was not always a pampered prince, Katara. I had to do my share of serving. I know what it's like to be completely powerless, and at the mercy of others. I will do right by my people."

Katara smiled, "that's what I told the girl."

**Okay, I understand that you are all busy with your lives, but would to be too much to ask to leave one, tiny, simple review? Pwetty pwease? Mirandaparra15, thank you so much for all of your reviews, you're the only reason I'm posting this chapter right now! Hope you enjoyed it!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Thank you so much for your reviews! It really does mean a lot to me when I get feedback suggesting that I actually did write a good chapter! And yes, the Gaang will feature in the story later on down the road, but not right now. Just a warning, this chapter's a little short.**

**_Little bit of back ground info: _**

_-Aang was born about 6 years sooner in this universe, so he was 18 when the monks told him he was the Avatar. After they tell him that he would have to give up his attachment to Gyatsu, he ran away, and we all know the story after that._

**_Ages for all characters are:_**

_18 - Aang and Suki_

_17 - Sokka and Zuko_

_15 - Katara and Toph (just so she isn't so many years younger then everyone else)_

**_In the last chapter..._**

Katara and Zuko arrived at the palace, one of the young maid's condition upset Katara when she realized that she had been taken advantage of.

**Things are starting to warm up, now! Now introducing the real story plot-twists!**

Bumi and Kya!

**Chapter Eight**

Katara knew that Zuko would have a difficult time dealing with the nobles that morning, buts she hadn't expected it to be THIS bad.

Zuko had much work to do as the Fire Lord, but after fighting with those bafoons for the better part of the day, he had found himself seeking out Katara for a much-needed sparring match in the royal gardens.

Katara had graciously excepted, walking with the Fire bender to the one place in the palace she had yet to explore that was not under strict guardianship, where two man-servants quickly removed his outer robes one by one until all he had left on were his deep maroon pants and his pointy shoes. Katara, too, removed her outer robes, and though normally she would strip down to her underthings, she left on the bottom-most layer, a yukata of the palest blue with slightly darker matching trousers, because with every piece of clothing she took off, the noble women standing at the edges of the garden waiting to see the match looked as if they were ready to faint from outrage.

"You ready to get your butt kicked, Fire Lord?" Katara asked, crouching into a bending stance.

Zuko smirked arrogantly, doing the same.

"As if I'd loose to you, Peasant."

"That's Princess to you, Sparky."

And with that, the fight was on.

**[I'm sucky at action-scenes, so imagine some kick-ass action sequence which ends with both parties being thrown to opposite ends of the garden by an awesome-ass colorful explosion]**

"Fire Lord Zuko!" one of the attendants called out.

"I'm fine!" he coughed, standing up from his position at the base of what had been one of the oldest trees in the garden, "Katara, you alright?"

"Yeah, I think so," she said as she pulled the pond water out of her clothes as the dust began to clear and they could see each other.

"What was that? I don't think it was anything we did," Zuko pondered.

"I don't know, but my bending feels weird. Like when I first got it back at the North Pole after Yue became the Moon Spirit."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. It's like after the eclipse, only-"

"That was awesome!" a young boy, who looked to be eight, maybe that, if not seven, said as he dropped down out of the tree Zuko had been knocked into.

"Mom, did you see that!" the boy called as he walked up to Katara, looking expectantly up at her.

_Mom?_

"Bumi, you idiot! We're not in our time, remember? She's not our mom yet, Dumb-dumb!" a girl who seemed to be the same age said as she dropped from the same tree as the boy.

Not their mom... yet? What was the girl talking about? Were they... from the future? Where she was their mother?

The girl was the spitting image of Katara, only much lankier that she herself had been at the girl's age. Katara had been chubby and rounded. Her skin tone matched Katara's perfectly, as did her eyes. The only feature that was different then Katara's was her darker-colored hair, which was pulled up into a high ponytail with two loopies, much like Katara's.

The boy, on the other hand, he was much lighter complected, but not completely pale. His figure was much like his sister's and his hair was his mother's dark chocolate brown color. There was one telling feature on his face, though.

His eyes. His bright, honey-golden eyes which he must have gotten from his father.

Something told her, his father's name wasn't Tom-Tom.

**So, what do you all think about this plot twist? I know I'm going to get reviewers who don't like what I did with Kya and Bumi, but this was the only way I could fit them into the relationship with Katara and Zuko without her seeming like a hoe. And yes, Tenzin is going to make an appearance, just keep your horses in the pin for a chapter!**


	9. Chapter 9

**For those of you who have mentioned that Zuko wouldn't name his son Bumi, he didn't. Not in the children's time. I'm not going to spoil the story, but know that there is a reason that I stuck with Bumi's real name instead of changing it. For those of you who don't know, Bumi, Kya, and Tenzin are Katara and Aang's children in The Legend of Korra. I just stole Bumi and Kya since it looks like Aang didn't have much of a relationship with his two older kids anyway.**

_**For the sake of my story, Kya and Bumi are twins, Bumi being the older twin. A few of their physical features are minutely different (like Bumi having golden eyes instead of plain black as depicted in LOK) but it will do nothing to change who they are as a character. There will, however, be one major change in Bumi that you guys may or may not like. If you don't like it, then don't read it.**_

**_Little bit of back ground info: _**

_-Aang was born about 6 years sooner in this universe, so he was 18 when the monks told him he was the Avatar. After they tell him that he would have to give up his attachment to Gyatsu, he ran away, and we all know the story after that._

**_Ages for all characters are:_**

_18 - Aang and Suki_

_17 - Sokka and Zuko_

_15 - Katara and Toph (just so she isn't so many years younger then everyone else)_

**_In the last chapter..._**

Katara and Zuko sparred until an explosion ended their fight and two kids showed up out of no where calling Katara mom.

**Chapter Nine**

"Bumi, you idiot, now she looks like she's about to faint!" Kya yelled at her twin.

"Gah, I'm so sorry, Mom! I didn't mean to freak you out!"

"Katara," Zuko asked as he came to stand next to her, holding her by the shoulders for support, "do you have any idea what's going on here?"

She shook her head.

"I'll tell you what's going on here! We're keeping our mom from denying her destiny!"

Both Katara and Zuko looked confused.

"My destiny? My destiny was to help Aang defeat to the Fire Lord and bring peace to the world."

"We're not talking about that," Kya sighed, looking around at the nobles starring at them, "maybe we should... go somewhere else to discuss this?"

Zuko nodded in agreement, then ordered one of his guards to see to it that the royal gardens were repaired, and another to see to it that refreshments were sent up to his private sitting room.

The two children went on ahead of them, claiming to already know the way to his private suite, and Zuko slowed his pace for the sickly looking Katara.

"Maybe I should send for a physician."

"No," she sighed, "I'm fine. I just... those kids... they look like they are... part Fire Nation."

"Maybe your husband is Fire Nation," Zuko explained with a shrug.

"The boy has golden eyes," she murmured quietly.

Zuko stopped and contemplated this for a moment.

"Do you think..."

"It's the only explanation."

"But... why did they call me Fire Lord Zuko instead of... dad? I mean, didn't I have a relationship with them?"

"I don't know , I'm just as confused as you. Maybe they will have answers for us."

The children were already in the sitting room, plopped down on the rug that sat before the large couch, as if it were their normal spot. Zuko led Katara to the couch, where he helped her sit down and then took his spot next to her.

"Alright, first things first. Who are you, and why are you here?" Zuko demanded.

"We already said that, Fire Lord!" Bumi scoffed, crossing his arms like Zuko had often done himself, "I'm Bumi, and this is Kya. We're twins, and Katara is our mom!"

"But not for another five or so years," Kya explained, "Tenzin is four years older then us."

"Tenzin?" Katara asked.

"Yeah, our older brother. You don't know that you're pregnant yet?"

Katara swooned and Zuko caught her, trying to shake her awake. When that didn't work, he laid her back against the couch before turning back to the children.

Why are you here? What _destiny_ is it that you have to help your mother with?"

"You see, in our time," Kya began, "when our mom found out about Tenzin, she tracked down his father, Avatar Aang, and married him, even though he wasn't the one she loved, or the one meant for her. That would be our father, her lover, the one she was suppose to marry."

"Me," Zuko concluded.

"Yep!" Bumi laughed,"but she's still married to our step dad, Avatar Aang, and because you were in love with her, too, you never married, and never had a legitimate heir, so the Fire Nation will one day be left under the rule of your nephew, Sozin, named after your great grandfather. He's... much like Fire Lord Ozai, only crazy like his mother. At eight, he eliminated the only other person who could have a claim to the throne."

Zuko frowned.

"I wasn't aware there WAS another heir."

"He's illegitimate, but he's Fire Nation, and he's a noble,"Kya supplied.

Bumi nodded, "his name's Tom Tom. He's your illegitimate brother."

**Drama, drama! So, tell me, what do you guys thing? Too much? Too soon? Completely 110% totally awesome? Let me know!**


	10. Chapter 10

**To anyone who is a little confused, please remember that this story is incomplete and that all will be explained in the following chapters. To those of you who just can't bare to read another chapter, deuces.**

**_Little bit of back ground info: _**

_-Aang was born about 6 years sooner in this universe, so he was 18 when the monks told him he was the Avatar. After they tell him that he would have to give up his attachment to Gyatsu, he ran away, and we all know the story after that._

**_Ages for all characters are:_**

_18 - Aang and Suki_

_17 - Sokka and Zuko_

_15 - Katara and Toph (just so she isn't so many years younger then everyone else)_

**_In the last chapter..._**

Kya and Bumi explain to Katara and Zuko who they are. Katara promptly faints.

**Chapter Ten**

To say that Zuko was a little shocked would be an understatement. He and Katara had speculated that Tom Tom was somehow related to the royal family, but he hadn't thought it was actually possible. It made no sense.

"Tom Tom? Mai's brother, Tom Tom?"

"Lady Mai's _son_, Tom Tom, yep!" Bumi confirmed.

"Son? You're wrong, Tom Tom is Mai's brother."

"Only because his grandparents adopted him after finding out that their 15-year-old daughter was expecting the Fire Lord's child," Kya explained, "They had informed the Fire Lord that it was a boy, and he officially named Tom Tom as one of his successors should he die."

"But... I don't understand," Zuko groaned, head in hands, "Mai and... my father?"

"Don't tell me you haven't caught your father with numerous hand-maids, because you know there are others. Tom Tom just happens to be the child of a noble as well."

"But, why would Mai sleep with... _him_?"

"Duh," Bumi snorted, "political advantage. How do you think her father landed that job as Governor of New Ozai?"

Zuko's head was spinning at the concept of Mai having anything at all to do with his father in... _that_ sort of a way. Why hadn't she told him? Why was she hiding something like that from him, knowing that it could affect him and the future generations of the royal family?

"Why would Sozin think Tom Tom was a threat and not you two?"

Kya and Bumi looked at each other, trying to think of the correct way to explain the situation to the young Fire Lord.

"When you and our mom got together," Kya began, "she and Avatar Aang were already married. To everyone but our mom and step-dad, they had a perfect marriage, a prefect relationship. Mom stayed on Air Temple Island and raised Tenzin, and he traveled the world, keeping peace and all that good stuff. But they knew, and you and Aunt Toph and Uncle Sokka knew that... things weren't as they seemed. You and Mom kept your relationship secret, so when she found out she was carrying us... she passed us off as Aang's. How were you suppose to explain to your people that you had an affair with the Avatar's wife? And that he knew about it, allowed it even. There was nothing between them but a political marriage. So Mom brought us here, to the Fire Nation Capitol, and we spent time here with you and Mom while Avatar Aang was traveling with Tenzin, who he was training in the arts of Air Bending. You were training Tom Tom to take your place as Fire Lord when the time came, because you refused to marry or have an heir with anyone but Mom, but you also knew that could never happen because she was married to Avatar Aang."

Zuko growled as he stood up, pacing the rugs before the fire place.

"How could we let that happen? I mean, surely there would be some way to get around all this!"

"Only if Avatar Aang died a premature death, which I don't think anyone would have liked. Aang's a good guy, even though all of this is one big mess," Kya sighed.

"How can you be so calm about this? Your rightful place, your birthright is to the throne!"

"Actually, that would have been me," Bumi sighed before looking away from his father, "you see, Kya's a Water bender, but when I was born, I was a Fire Bender."

Zuko's blood ran ice cold as he picked up on that key word.

_Was._

"You mean you aren't anymore?"

Bumi shook his head.

"Avatar Aang knew that if I lost my temper even once that I would show the world that I was a Fire Bender, and then there would be so much turmoil surrounding our family, no one would come out unscathed. So the first time I ever bent, he took away my Fire Bending. He didn't even tell Mom until it was too late."

The flames in the fire place shot strait up the chimney as the young Fire Bender's rage took over him and he pounded his fist on the wall.

"Aang... is so dead!"

"That's why we came here!" Kya interrupted before her father's temper got out of control, "We came here because you and Avatar Aang started a war when you found out about Bumi! You destroyed everything you had worked for, and more! That month of war devastated the world a hundred times worse then the Hundred Years War! The entire world turned on each other, every man, woman, and child for themselves! All because of a decision made by a desperate teenage when she found out she was pregnant with the Avatar's child, the only other Air Bender in the world!"

**Cliffie! You guys have been so awesome, and so patient with me. I hope that this chapter kind of makes the future plot of the story a little more clear. _Mission: Get Mom And Dad (AKA Katara and Zuko)Together Before Mom Flips out and Marries Avatar Aang-_ commence!**


	11. Chapter 11

**To the Guest who commented that Aang is 12... read the freaking summary description below. I deal with enough stupid people at work, please don't make me deal with them here, too. And BTW... the SOUTHERN Watertribe is ANYTHING but conventional. If it was, Katara would not be as outspoken and strong as she is.**

**_Little___**** bi**t of back ground info: \/ \/ \/ READ! \/ \/ \/**  
**

_-Aang was born about 6 years sooner in this universe, so he was 18 when the monks told him he was the Avatar. After they tell him that he would have to give up his attachment to Gyatsu, he ran away, and we all know the story after that._

**_Ages for all characters are:_**

_18 - Aang and Suki_

_17 - Sokka and Zuko_

_15 - Katara and Toph (just so she isn't so many years younger then everyone else)_

**_In the last chapter..._**

The kids explain to Zuko why they are there, and who exactly Tom Tom is.

Chapter Eleven

Katara came to just in time to hear that Zuko and Aang had started another war. Because of her. She had, somehow, caused a riff between the two friends and had, inadvertently, started something she had spent the last year of her life trying to end.

"Katara," Zuko sighed in relief, "thank Angi, you're awake! Are you alright? Do you want me to fetch the physician?"

The fifteen-year-old shook her head.

"No, I'm alright. I think I was just... a little overwhelmed by everything that's going on. I mean, first there was the thing with Aang, then the wedding, and then Mai broke up with you, and then we were planning to travel together, and now not only have our own future children fallen out of the sky, but they're telling me that... I'm pregnant? Seriously? This week has been, just, so... GAHHHH!"

"Wait until we tell her about the rebellion," Bumi muttered to his sister, who promptly elbowed him in the ribs.

"Shut up, Bumi," she growled under her breath.

"What rebellion?" Zuko demanded.

Bumi waved it off, "it won't happen for another three or four years, so it's fine. We'll explain it later."

"But right now, the important thing is that no matter what, you can't marry Aang, Mom!" Kya exclaimed, "You can't destroy everything the spirits have worked for!"

"What do the spirits have to do with it?" the elder Water bender pondered.

"Well, you see, this goes back eons ago. Long story short, your soul and Zuko's soul have been reincarnated many times, each time with the intent of you two meeting and falling in love and living happily ever after," Kya finished with a romantic sighed, after which Bumi elbowed her back. She frowned.

"Why would the spirits do that?"

"Because they owed you," Bumi explained to his mother.

"Well, sometimes you would meet, others you would not, but every time you would meet, one of you would already be married. So the spirits took extra care to see to it that the two of you met at a young age this time around. They guided you to each other in hopes that you would fall for each other. Unfortunately, Avatar Aang interfered, and the two of you were forever together, yet separated. Because of the rules that ever bent by the spirits' interference, certain conditions had to be met."

"Conditions like..," Zuko asked.

"Like how both of you had to sacrifice so much as children to be able to have a happy life as an adult. The loss of your mothers, your fathers' absences from your lives, your scars, physical and emotional. The pain you both went through to end the war, all of the mental trauma... everything was so that you would get rid of all of your bad karma at an early age so that the good karma was greater then the bad karma as you got older. Does that make sense? I can't think of another way to explain it," the little girl sighed.

"I think so. Basically our suffering as children will pay off the older we get. We are passed all of the traumatic events in our lives."

"Most of them. I mean, you've over come the biggest of them," Kya confirmed.

"Yeah, but there's still-"

"They don't need to know every detail about the future in our world, Bumi. Their futures and ours will not be the same," Kya interrupted.

"What does that mean?"

"It means, Dad, that while certain things are sure to happen, like us eventually being born, there are things that can and will change. For instance, in our time, our world really, we never came and visited our parents in their pasts. They made the mistakes we have warned you two against. Therefor, you will not be the exact same people who we knew as our parents. We have effectively created a parallel universe to the one that we were born into."

"And now, it seems we are indefinitely _stuck _here," Bumi groaned.

**R&R please!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Thank you all so much for your awesome reviews! I want to dedicate this chapter to you all, especially you, Ryujin! I think I actually cried a little when I read your review and PMs. I will do my best to live up to your expectations! _Hai, douzo!_**

**_Little___**** bi**t of back ground info: **  
**

_-Aang was born about 6 years sooner in this universe, so he was 18 when the monks told him he was the Avatar. After they tell him that he would have to give up his attachment to Gyatsu, he ran away, and we all know the story after that._

**_Ages for all characters are:_**

_18 - Aang and Suki_

_17 - Sokka and Zuko_

_15 - Katara and Toph (just so she isn't so many years younger then everyone else)_

**_In the last chapter..._**

Katara wakes up and the kids explain what their goal for coming to the future was- reuniting two soul mates!

**Chapter Twelve**

"What do you mean, you are stuck here? You don't know how to get to your own time?" Katara gaped incredulously.

Kya shook her head, "no, we don't. We don't even know if it's possible. The spirits said that when the time came, they would call us back to our own time stream, but until then we had to make sure that things started on the path that they are suppose to."

"Well, what's the point in you staying here?" Zuko asked, "We know that we are suppose to be together, so your purpose is served."

"Just because you know that you are suppose to be together doesn't mean that everything will work out itself," Bumi snorted.

"More then likely it's just the opposite. Now that you know that you are suppose to be together, you may feel pressured to speed things along, but forcing it will only make your relationship one big lie. We're here to make sure that the two of you truly fall in love with each other."

There was a knock on the double wooden doors at the face of the room and a serving girl peeked her head in, bowing deeply.

"Fire Lord Zuko, the refreshments you ordered are ready."

"Actually," Bumi yawned, "I don't know about you, Kya, but I'm really tired. Would it be alright if we went to one of the guests' rooms, Fire Lord?"

Zuko inclined his head in agreement, "of course. See to it that these two have anything they want, and see them to the guest's rooms directly across from the nursery. Also, send a message to the royal physician that he is to report to Master Katara immediately fallowing the mid-morning meal tomorrow."

"As you wish, your majesty."

Bumi and Kya bowed in the formal way of the Fire Nation to their father, and then gave their stunned mother a kiss on the cheek each before seeing themselves off to their rooms. Zuki sat back on the settee, trying to rub the head ache from his temples.

"Our lives are never boring, are they?" Katara sighed before placing her hands on the young man's temples.

Zuko snorted, "no, never."

Katara slowly withdrew her hands from her companion's face and set her hands back in her lap.

"So, I guess this means... we're parents."

"Yeah," he agreed, "but not in anyone's eyes but our own, and those two kids'. Katara, we have to fix this."

"Zuko, I don't think falling in love is going to fix all of our problems. I mean, even if we did, no one would ever except me as your wife, little alone the Fire Lady! I'm a Water bender, for Tui's sake!"

"Which is why you'd be a prefect Fire Lady."

Katara laughed humorlessly.

"I'm serious. The people of the Fire Nation need to get it in their heads that they are not the only people in the world, or even the most powerful or most important. Having a Water bender as the Fire Lady will not only teach my people that there needs to be diversity in the world, but it will also show the world that the Fire Nation realizes the worth of the other nations."

"So," she snorted, "you want to make everyone think we'd have an arranged marriage, or at a political one."

"You know I'd never want that, Katara. And I hate to say it, but not just I, but YOU are one of the most important people in the world. You are the Avatar's Water bending teacher, his best friend, and soon, the mother of his first child. You are no longer some peasant, or even the daughter of a chieftain. You, Katara, of your own doing, have become a very important person in this world."

Said teen blushed and looked away from her future lover.

"Zuko, I don't WANT to be important. I'm just... me."

"And that's all the world sees, is you. You in all your glory. Don't worry about what they thing, just do what you feel, what YOU want. Be your own person."

"But, Zuko, what about the rebellion they spoke of? Surely you don't think that it's going to just come up out of the blue. There's going to be a trigger. What if that trigger... is me? What if I'm the one who caused all that, just like in their time, I'm the one who caused the next war."

Zuko frowned at the girl. She looked close to tears, and he wanted nothing more then to scoop her up in his arms and hold her against his chest.

Which is exactly what he did. Katara gasped, eyes wide as he became aware of the warm body surrounding her.

"I promise, Katara, that won't happen. It won't be your fault, because I won't be stupid enough to turn into the one thing I swore I'd never be. I won't become my father, and with you by my side, I know that the Fire Nation is going to be in good hands."

Katara nodded and curled into his warmth, wrapping her arms around his neck as she leaned into his hold. She closed her eyes and breathed in the deep, earthy smell he'd aquired while traveling the Earth Kingdom, along with the warm, smoldering smell of smoke and sun that had first caught her attention all that time ago when he'd first come close enough to her for her to smell him.

_"I'll save you from the pirates."_

Katara smiled, thinking that maybe it wouldn't be such a bad thing to allow the Fire bender to woo her heart into his keeping.

**I know it's still a bit short, but I'll do my best to update often to make up for it! Look for an extra long chapter some time in the next 36-48 hours!**


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